The first is a re-recording, replaces my impossibly slow and lumbering version on the site with one more airy. Two unfortunate stumbles but apart from that not too bad I hope.

Just in case you are curious of what I'm up to with my choir, I taped this morning's mass (cut out all the spoken parts). Pretty gut-wrenching stuff... I don't expect anybody to sit this out - unless you did not go to church today and feel bad about it I'm appalled to hear how loud the organ sounds downstairs compared to the vocals. They've been trying for a long time to tell me I'm playing too loud, now I know why. I must really scale down the registrations, though it sounds fine upstairs. Also it sounds as if they are consistently off-tune which definitely is not the case. I wonder if it is some sort of trick of the acoustic. Anybody's got an idea about that ?

Chris, it was a great pleasure for me to listen to the mass!
First, because sometime I will be in the same situation to play the organ in the church service anytime (but never X-mas, that is the job of the boss organ player, and that's not me), so I am of course interested.
Second, because it is so interesting to me which songs are played in a Netherland's catholic X-mass.
Third, because it sounds really good. Also your choir - they are really good. I expect like usual, many female and pretty less male singers? They don't sing out of tune. Is there any conductor or do they play according to the organ alone? It sounds to me that it is no choir with mostly singer > 65 years, what often is the case here. They sound young and fresh.
Maybe the organ is a bit too loud in comparison, but not much. For the songs with whole church singing, definitely not too loud. Was the church full packed with people? Some additional adrenalin output while playing before a large croud?
You really did very well with organ playing in the mass. I find it crazy that you need to play until the ring bells, and then stop. That never would happen at least in a protestantic German mass. The pastor starts when the organ playing is over, and that is up to the organist. Only if money is collected in the service, one should play as long as this service is over. Thank's Good they don't collect money from the organ player, and respect that he needs both hands, lol: .

Sorry for having no time now to read the Orgelbüchlein pieces along with score, but your BWV603 sounds very carefully articulated to me, and the BWV609 also, short and sweet played!

So you have no tasks at home to prepare the goose for the festive feed and get time to record? I should tell this my wife that I get more spare time! Great job, also the mass!

Nope, we do not have a conductor anymore. He gave up because the choir became too small, too old, and too inflexible. So I now sit there bobbing my head like an idiot, trying to 'conduct' or at least notify them when to start and stop. I just as well would not want to do that as it takes more experience than I actually have. Some mighty goofs along the way, especially in my long droning improvisation until the bell rings. But they don't seem to mind. Much of what I play here is improvised as I usually have no organ part for the songs, just the notes of the song.
There were about 30 people today, as opposed to 170 yesterday evening (evening mass seems to be something special). I wish I'd taped it then instead of today. Ah well, glad you enjoyed it all the same.

Had a nice time with the solo items.... After about 1.5 hours of BWV 609 I had it about right, and was so eager to go home that I switched off the Edirol before thinking of pressing the Stop button. Hot damn.... that track remained empty of course. Had to sit down and re-record it. Came out none the worse, luckily. Morale: never be hasty....

Nope, no goose thing going on here. The kids made dinner for us, the sweeties.

I've listened to it all and it was interesting to understand how it works in a catholic Dutch church. Pretty long improvisations in there. Must be tricky to keep on going that long. I've heard to complain about the choir but to me it sounds like it works out alright.

To the spring, I will probably play with the children choir which Alva (my daughter) sings in. Not sure if I look forward to it as they are from 7 to 10 years old. But I will use the piano only. I do not dare to enter the organ .

I've listened to it all and it was interesting to understand how it works in a catholic Dutch church. Pretty long improvisations in there. Must be tricky to keep on going that long.

Yes it is tricky as you must be prepared to stop at any moment and yet don't want to have to break it oiff too abruptly. So I just keep rehashing one or two motifs with harmonic variations. Probably gets boring after a while but that is their problem

robert wrote:

To the spring, I will probably play with the children choir which Alva (my daughter) sings in. Not sure if I look forward to it as they are from 7 to 10 years old. But I will use the piano only. I do not dare to enter the organ .

Make sure you record it for us !
I'll bet you will get to that organ eventually...

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